NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Newman was the fifth highest-searched person on Google in the US in 2020, a list that was topped by President-Elect Joe Biden. Newman was tops, though, among athletes.
Also in the top-five trending athletes in US searches on Google was Cup Series driver Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. Wallace was third on the athlete list. Sandwiched between Newman and Wallace on the list of top-trending athletes was NFL player Tom Brady.
News of Newman’s crash in the 2020 season-opening Daytona 500 in February was picked up by mainstream news. After his last-lap crash, Newman was extricated from his car and transported to a nearby hospital, where he was listed in serious condition. After a diagnosis of brain bruising, he was released from the hospital fewer than 48 hours after the crash.
Newman missed the three-race West Coast Swing that immediately followed the Daytona 500. But by the time NASCAR returned from an approximate two-month break because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Newman was cleared to race after missing only three races.
Wallace, meanwhile, first made news for his efforts to improve diversity in NASCAR — efforts that prompted a ban of the Confederate flag at NASCAR-sanctioned events. Amid his diversity efforts, a rope tied in the form of a noose was discovered in his team’s garage stall at Talladega Superspeedway. An FBI investigation determined that Wallace was not a target.
Later in the year, Wallace was in the news, again, when he signed to drive for a new team, 23XI Racing, co-owned by NBA legend Michael Jordan and fellow-NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin in 2021.
Other top-five trending athletes on Google in the US in 2020 included boxer Mike Tyson in fourth and NBA player Rudy Gobert in fifth.
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